Vacuum cleaner having a floating nozzle



9, H. A. SHUMAKER 2,446,985

VACUUM CLEANER HAVING A FLOATING NOZZLE Filed June 1, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ATTORNE Aug. 10, 1948. I H. A. SHUMAKER 2,446,985

I VACUU" CLEANER HAVING A FLOATING NOZZLE Filed June 1, 1944 a Sheetg-Shae t .2

. /7amwo xii/Minnie 10, 1948. H. A. 'sHuMA ER 2,446,985

VACUUM CLEANER HAVING A FLOATING NOZZLE 3 Sheets-Sheet s Filed June 1, 1944 Patented Aug. 10, 1948 VACUUM CLEANER HAVING A FLOATING NOZZLE Howard A. Shumaker, Somerville, N. 3., assignmto The Singer Manufacturing Company, Elizabeth, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application June 1, 1944, Serial No. 538,304 '2 Claims. (c1. 15-8) This invention relates to a vacuum cleaner.

A vacuum cleaner is a heavy object whose weight is such that it has proved to be very diflicult to regulate the position of the vacuum nozzle, and the brush or agitator accurately with respect to the surface which is being cleaned. If the nozzle is correctly adjusted for one carpet, it frequently happens that it is not so for other carpets which have a different. nap and thickness, because the weight of the machine presses the wheels more or less into the nap of the carpet depending on its texture.

It is an object of the invention to make a vacuum cleaner whose nozzle will be at all times automatically correctly spaced from the working surface, and which is, to a considerable extent,- independent of rug texture.

With the above and other objects in view, as will hereinafter appear, the invention comprises the devices, combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter set forth and illustrated in the accompanying drawings of a preferred embodiment of the invention, from which the several features of the invention and the advantages attained thereby will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a plan view of the chassis of the new vacuum cleaner.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the vacuum nozzle of the new vacuum cleaner showing the brush in dotted lines.

, Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the assembled vacuum cleaner..

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the vacuum cleaner with the handle, the motor, and the cover removed.

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view partly in vertical section showing the advantageous manner in which this invention functions.

In the drawings like numerals indicate like parts and the description is illustrative, not a limitation.

The chassis N3 of the vacuum cleaner comprises essentially a cast frame I! affording an air conduit having an intake I i and an outlet I2, a motor l3 mounted on a plate M, a fan IE on the motor shaft to create suction, and a belt pulley [6, also on the motor shaft. The air conduit is composed of a lower chamber l8 and an upper chamber 19 separated by wall 20 having therein an opening 2| which permits free movement of the air. The plate Hi which supports the motor also serves as an upper closure for the upper chamber i9.

A rear axle 30 is secured in a seat 33 in the rear end of thechassis and is locked in position by screws 35, carried by a plate 34, which press against a fiat portion of the axle. The axle 30 has offset portions 3| on which are journaled rear wheels 32. Drilled legs 36 on the forward part of the chassis casting carry axles 38 on which are journaled a pair of front wheels 31. On the upper portion of the frame I! are flanges 40 on which a plate 4| is mounted-and forms a part of the cover of the conduit; bolt holes 42 in the flanges permit the plate Al to be secured in a sealed position, A standard 44 is secured to or forms a part of plate 4| and supports a pivoted handle 45, Drilled flanges 50 on the frame I1 form a main motor support to which the motor plate I4 is secured by bolts 51 or the like. The plate 4| has a flange 52 which completes the motor support.

Numeral 6D indicates a pivot stud fixed to the frame H by bolts 6|. A generally U-shapcd floating nozzle member 62 (see Fig. 2) substantially embraces the chassis frame In (see Fig. 4) and comprises a nozzle proper and a pair of rearwardly extending spaced arms 69 arranged outside said chassis and having bearings 16 which receive the stud the pivot and mountin being such that the pivot is substantially aligned with the offset axles of the rear wheels. A brush, or a rotary agitator 63 is mounted in the nozzle (in bearings not shown) and is driven by the belt 66 from the pulley it, which .belt transmits power from the motor.

An outlet 55 from the nozzle is connected by flexible conduit 68 to the inlet l l of the frame conduit. Nozzle-supporting wheels 10 are mounted by axles 7| in the arms 69 and are not connected to wheels 31.

A removable hood or cover 12 is bolted to the chassis at '13 and 11 and extends down over the center portion 66 of the nozzle. The lower edge portions of the side walls of the cover 12 are spaced laterally from the side walls of the frame [1, as shown in Fig. 6. This cover has a removable lens Bl in front of the light bulb 80. Stud screws 14 are mounted in the arms 69, and slotted brackets 15 are mounted in frame member H, the studs projecting into the slots of elements 15 so that the relative vertical movement possible between the cover and the chassis of the vacuum cleaner is limited. The arms 69 have vertically extending portions located in thespace between the lower edge portion of the side walls of the cover 1'2 and the side walls of the frame l1. These portions of the arms extend upwardly behind the side walls of the cover sufiiciently to efiect a finished closure for the frame I! in positions of the nozzle member.

The functioning of the device will be comprehended from the preceding description. In brief, as the cleaner is moved along, the heavy portions, handle, bag, chassis, motor, and cover are borne by the wheels 31 which sink deeply into the was and vary their relationship to the surface thereof according to the character of the rug, whereas the light, pivotally moutned nozzle, supported at its front end by wheels 10, maintains its proper distance therefrom with substantial uniformity.

The operation of the invention is illustrated in Fig. 7, wherein is shown how the wheels 32 and 31 sink into a carpet or rug having a soft nap under the weight of the heavy parts of the machine, while the wheels which carry the much lighter weight of the brush and nozzle ride on the surface of the carpet and maintain the proper relation of the nozzle thereto.

Another advantage is that the wear on carpeting caused by the brush or agitator is reduced because the nozzle and brush are not forced into too close contact with the r118 by the weight of the chassis.

The nozzle is shown in Figs. 2 and 3 to be partly within the cover, but the cover could be omitted without impairing the function of the machine.

As many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the specific embodiments thereof except as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, what I claim herein is:

1. A vacuum cleaner having a chassis comprising a frame supported by front and rear wheels, an air conduit constructed therein having an intake toward the front and an outlet toward the rear thereof, the intake portion of said air conduit extending below the main forward portion of said all the vertical 2. A vacuum cleaner having a chassis comprising a frame and an appearance housing carried by said frame, an air conduit constructed in said frame and having an intake opening at the front and an outlet opening at the rear of said frame, a portion of said air conduit including said intake extending below the main portion of said frame and extending toward the forward portion of said cleaner, a motor mounted on said frame, a fan in said conduit and operated by said motor to impel air through said conduit toward said outlet opening, a pair of front main wheels rotatably carried on the front part of said frame, a pair of rear main wheels rotatably carried on the rear part of said frame, said front and rear main wheels supporting said frame, appearance housing, air conduit, motor and fan, a substantially U- cleaner frame, a motor mounted on the frame,

zle, and positioned in substantial axial alignment with said front wheels, a lost-motion connection between said frame and nozzle member, forwardly of said pivot, to limit the relative movement between said frame and member, a rotary brush in said nozzle, means to drive the brush from the motor, and flexible conduit means connecting a portion of the nozzle and said intake for relative motion.

shaped floating nozzle -member comprising a nozzle proper and a pair of horizontally disposed and rearwardly extending arms embracing said frame and said intake portion of said air conduit and pivotally connected to the rear portion thereof in substantial aligmnent with the rotation axis of the rear wheels, a pair of spaced auxiliary wheels supporting the front end of said nozzle and having their rotation axis in substantial alignment with the rotation axis of said front main wheels, means positioned forwardly of the pivotal axis of said arms for limiting the relative movement between said nozzle member and said frame, a rotary brush in said nozzle proper, means to drive said brush from said motor, and flexible conduit means connecting a portion of said nozzle proper between said arms to said intake opening for relative motion, said auxiliary wheels and said rear main wheels wholly supporting said nozzle member and said brush.

HOWARD A. SHUMAKER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,557,747 Wagner Oct. 20, 1925 1,766,425 Brockway June 24, 1930 2,055,734 Replogle Sept. 29, 1936 2,175,639 Sparklin Oct. 10, 1939 2,202,788 Allen May 28, 1940 2,202,980 Becker June 4, 1940 2,343,227 Sellers Feb. 29, 1944 2,381,710 Arnhym Aug. 7, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 523,551 Great Britain July 17, 1940 16,679 Great Britain 1910 

